Business

7:41 am

Tue June 4, 2013

KY Economic Development Representative In Japan Retiring

Tokyo native Jiro Hashimoto is retiring after 28 years as Kentucky's economic development representative in Japan. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear called Hashimoto a tireless advocate for Kentuckians, crediting him with securing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments from Japanese companies.

Hashimoto is leaving the job at the end of June, having worked with seven Kentucky governors. The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development said in a statement yesterday that, during Hashimoto's tenure, more than 150 Japanese companies have come to Kentucky, employing more than 38,000 people. Kentucky has international economic development offices in Tokyo and Hamburg, Germany.